Do I? Hell, yes I do, but it’s late. Or early if you think about it.
“Rain check?” I look at my watch. “How about tomorrow?” For some reason, one I can’t explain, I need to see her again. She’s refreshing. Doesn’t take my shit. She hesitates. “I’d like to see more of your drawings.” I give her another smile, hoping she doesn’t think I’m some nut job who just wants in her panties. I mean – she has to have guys wanting to knock down her door.
“I have to work tomorrow.” She smiles and suddenly I feel like I can’t breathe. “I work at the coffee shop.” My brows raise in excitement. “I’ll be there all day.” She looks over at a wall and then back at me and lets out the cutest laugh. “In fact, I have to be there in about five hours.”
I take a step back, then another, heading out the door and feeling the smile on my face. “What time is your break?”
She follows me until her hand rests on the side of the door. “Eleven-thirty?”
I begin to turn to make my way downstairs and look over my shoulder, my smile still there. “I’ll be there.”
I jog down the stairs, feeling exhilarated. Hearing her door close softly as I reach the bottom step, I run out of her building and down the small walk then let out in a full run down the sidewalk to my building. I may not remember her from high school but I’ll never forget her now. How in the hell did I not notice her in school? I feel lighter, a kick in my step. I may not be able to go to sleep tonight.
Chapter 4
Piper
THE Weston Minton – star quarterback of Northwestern High. All around jock, always swarmed by a ton of people, popularity overload. Exact opposite of myself. Yet, the guy I met last night seemed a contradiction to the Weston I saw at school. Playing his guitar, the song, and his voice – oh, my God! It was so not the Weston I remembered from school. Then, what a shock to find out he was the guy I’d sketched so late at night sitting on my deck. I mean – there’s no doubt I thought, as well as all the girls at school, he’s a great looking guy but to see him in the flesh, even before I knew who he was, had me mesmerized. And apparently speechless, at first, when he came to my door. He was so angry, so animated, yet so gorgeous. It was apparent he’d just been running. A light bead of sweat covered his tanned skin. Seeing him that close, looking at those large biceps and muscular chest through his tank top, left me reeling.
I’d just about fallen asleep when he came pounding on my door. Scared the shit outta me. And after he left, I didn’t think I’d ever go to sleep. I think I ended up with a couple of hours of restless sleep then got up and showered. I made my way to the coffee shop, thinking I’ll need an IV of endless coffee today.
The morning has been long and busy. Students and other patrons came in by swarms. At least it’s kept me busy and my adrenaline going so I don’t collapse from lack of sleep. My break came and went and no Weston. To say I’m disappointed doesn’t cover it. He made me so curious about him last night. That song he played and sang, I’d never heard it before. Was it an original? I can imagine him sitting on his couch, guitar over his lap, playing it as he came up with the words. Shirtless. Wait! What? Okay, it’s no secret he’s gorgeous. I find myself smiling as I wipe off a table after the lunch rush. That image alone makes my fingers itch to sketch him again. Moving around the room, I clean table after table. Sheesh, some people are pigs the way they leave them. I make my way outside onto the deck and start to clean up out there. Uh, hello? There’s a trash can not two feet from this table yet it’s sitting here covered in trash.
“Sorry I’m late.”
I look up at the sound of his voice. It’s like he’s walking up the steps in slow motion. Body glistening with sweat in the bright sun. He pulls up his t-shirt over his head and I watch as it begins to cover his broad chest, the ridges of his sculpted abs and the small light trail of hair down to the waistband of his shorts. My mouth suddenly goes dry as I blink my way back to reality. “Uh… that’s okay.” I start cleaning the already clean table and then move to the next one. I stop, my hand raised holding the damp cloth as he pulls out a chair and sits down. “Can I get you something?”
I watch him remove a small cloth from the pocket of his jogging shorts and wipe the sweat from his face and find myself licking my lips. Wait! Why the hell do I find that so sexy? This is the Weston Minton! Okay, maybe I’m a little smitten. Maybe the fact that he was so popular and I was a nobody makes me a little… jealous? Remember, Piper, you wanted it that way. You wanted to be alone and study. “Can I just get a bottled water, please?” His voice pulls me from my thoughts.